Ultrasonic surgical instruments are finding increasingly widespread applications in surgical procedures by virtue of the unique performance characteristics of such instruments. Depending upon specific instrument configurations and operational parameters, ultrasonic surgical instruments can provide substantially simultaneous cutting of tissue and hemostasis by coagulation, desirably minimizing patient trauma. The cutting action is typically realized by an-end effector, or blade tip, at the distal end of the instrument, which transmits ultrasonic energy to tissue brought into contact with the end effector. Ultrasonic instruments of this nature can be configured for open surgical use, laparoscopic, or endoscopic surgical procedures including robotic-assisted procedures.
Some surgical instruments utilize ultrasonic energy for both precise cutting and controlled coagulation. Ultrasonic energy cuts and coagulates by using lower temperatures than those used by electrosurgery. Vibrating at high frequencies (e.g., 55,500 times per second), the ultrasonic blade denatures protein in the tissue to form a sticky coagulum. Pressure exerted on tissue with the blade surface collapses blood vessels and allows the coagulum to form a hemostatic seal. The precision of cutting and coagulation is controlled by the surgeon's technique and adjusting the power level, blade edge, tissue traction, and blade pressure.
A primary challenge of ultrasonic technology for medical devices, however, continues to be sealing of blood vessels. Work done by the applicant and others has shown that optimum vessel sealing occurs when the inner muscle layer of a vessel is separated and moved away from the adventitia layer prior to the application of standard ultrasonic energy. Current efforts to achieve this separation have involved increasing the clamp force applied to the vessel.
Furthermore, the user does not always have visual feedback of the tissue being cut. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide some form of feedback to indicate to the user that the cut is complete when visual feedback is unavailable. Moreover, without some form of feedback indicator to indicate that the cut is complete, the user may continue to activate the harmonic instrument even though the cut is complete, which cause possible damage to the harmonic instrument and surrounding tissue by the heat that is generated when activating a harmonic instrument with little to nothing between the jaws.
The ultrasonic transducer may be modeled as an equivalent circuit having first branch comprising a static capacitance and a second “motional” branch comprising a serially connected inductance, resistance and capacitance that defines the electromechanical properties of the resonator. Conventional ultrasonic generators may include a tuning inductor for tuning out the static capacitance at a resonant frequency so that substantially all of generator's current output flows into the motional branch. The motional branch current, along with the drive voltage, define the impedance and phase magnitude. Accordingly, using a tuning inductor, the generator's current output represents the motional branch current, and the generator is thus able to maintain its drive output at the ultrasonic transducer's resonant frequency. The tuning inductor also transforms the phase impedance plot of the ultrasonic transducer to improve the generator's frequency lock capabilities. However, the tuning inductor must be matched with the specific static capacitance of an ultrasonic transducer. A different ultrasonic transducer having a different static capacitance requires a different tuning inductor.
Electrosurgical devices for applying electrical energy to tissue in order to treat and/or destroy the tissue are also finding increasingly widespread applications in surgical procedures. An electrosurgical device typically includes a handpiece, an instrument having a distally-mounted end effector (e.g., one or more electrodes). The end effector can be positioned against the tissue such that electrical current is introduced into the tissue. Electrosurgical devices can be configured for bipolar or monopolar operation. During bipolar operation, current is introduced into and returned from the tissue by active and return electrodes, respectively, of the end effector. During monopolar operation, current is introduced into the tissue by an active electrode of the end effector and returned through a return electrode (e.g., a grounding pad) separately located on a patient's body. Heat generated by the current flowing through the tissue may form hemostatic seals within the tissue and/or between tissues and thus may be particularly useful for sealing blood vessels, for example. The end effector of an electrosurgical device may also include a cutting member that is movable relative to the tissue and the electrodes to transect the tissue.
Electrical energy applied by an electrosurgical device can be transmitted to the instrument by a generator in communication with the handpiece. The electrical energy may be in the form of radio frequency (“RF”) energy. RF energy is a form of electrical energy that may be in the frequency range of 300 kilohertz (kHz) to 1 megahertz (MHz). In application, an electrosurgical device can transmit low frequency RF energy through tissue, which causes ionic agitation, or friction, in effect resistive heating, thereby increasing the temperature of the tissue. Because a sharp boundary is created between the affected tissue and the surrounding tissue, surgeons can operate with a high level of precision and control, without sacrificing un-targeted adjacent tissue. The low operating temperatures of RF energy is useful for removing, shrinking, or sculpting soft tissue while simultaneously sealing blood vessels. RF energy works particularly well on connective tissue, which is primarily comprised of collagen and shrinks when contacted by heat.
Due to their unique drive signal, sensing and feedback needs, ultrasonic and electrosurgical instruments have generally required dedicated generators. Additionally, in cases where the instrument is disposable or interchangeable with a handpiece, ultrasonic and electrosurgical generators are limited in their ability to recognize the particular instrument configuration being used and to optimize control and diagnostic processes accordingly. Moreover, capacitive coupling of signals from the generator into patient-isolated circuits, especially in cases of higher voltage and frequency ranges, may result in exposure of a patient to unacceptable levels of leakage current.
It would be desirable to provide a surgical instrument that overcomes some of the deficiencies of current instruments. The surgical system described herein overcomes those deficiencies.